I received an email from my friend Keith Lam in Hong Kong
with information on some of the previous postings:

(Sept 2003 Porterís Page 1)

"I have the wrapping paper translated by a Korean
customer"

1550-726-6556
M5 side arm (bayonet)
Quantity 2 pcs

(October 2003 Porterís Page 2)

"The inside handle slabs do read Left & Right.
But those in the picture were reversed!"

(January 2004 Porterís Page 5)

"The characters read from right to left are: National
Army"

Keith also sent a photo of a Kiffe M4 in his collection that is marked on
the front of the crossguard KIFFE over JAPAN.

Keith also sent me photos of an additional piece in his
collection that he felt was related to the previous topic of foreign M1 Garand
bayonets. It is a US M1 Garand bayonet that has had a new, larger muzzle ring
attached to the crossguard and been stamped with a seven digit serial number
on the ricasso and the scabbard. The bayonet is actually an Argentine BM59
bayonet. I considered including them at the time but decided to leave them
out, as they are no longer a Garand bayonet.

Thank you Keith for sharing this information with us.

April 2004

I recently spent three and a half days in Baltimore for the
Maryland Arms Collectors Association show and the Society of American Bayonet
Collectors (SABC) annual banquet. For those of you out there who are bayonet
collectors, this is the place to be. Iíll admit that itís not the greatest
place for contemporary blades, but it is probably the largest assembly of
bayonet collectors anywhere in the world. There are easily 200 of the top
bayonet collectors from the US and Europe there. The amount of knowledge
present is phenomenal. The best part of all is that most of the guys are more
than happy to share their information freely and enjoy the opportunity to
speak with a fellow collector who shares their enthusiasm in the subject. I
strongly recommend that everyone experience this show at least once.

Weíll pick up here where we left off last month; foreign
manufactured bayonets for the US M1 Carbine. Iíve thrown in some non-M4
variations to make it a little more interesting.

Argentine M1 Carbine Bayonets

These bayonets started out as Argentine Model 1891 bayonets
with aluminum alloy grips. At first glance it appears that the hook quillon
was removed from the crossguard and the blades shortened. Upon further
examination it was determined that an entirely new crossguard has been
installed and it is set approximately 6 mm further down the blade (toward the
tip) than the original crossguard. As a result, the original alloy grips have
been replaced with a much more crude, longer set of alloy grips. A notch has
been milled in the back of the pommel to allow the latch to mate with the M1
Carbine bayonet lug.

These bayonets hit the US surplus market about 15 years
ago. They were advertised as being a Mauser bayonet modified to fit the US M1
Carbine "by an un-named South American arsenal". In Bayonets
de la Republica Argentina by Mario Suffriti and Oscar Albino, the
existence of these bayonets are acknowledged, but the authors state that they
have not been able to gather any information as to who made this modification.
I classify them as Argentine based solely on their origin. They bear a number
on the top of the tang and also on the right ricasso. The pommels still bear
the original Argentine markings.

There are two different scabbards for this bayonet, both
painted white. The first is a modified M1891 steel scabbard that has been cut
down and rewelded. It still has the original serial number visible under the
white paint. The second scabbard is a standard USM8A1 scabbard.

The identification of this bayonet is based on the marks
molded into the scabbard body. They are identical to those found on the
Taiwanese M1 Garand bayonet scabbard. This bayonet is a standard M4 style
bayonet with all metal parts Parkerized. An unusual characteristic of this
particular model is the plastic grips. They look like most other grips at a
glance, but they have very sharp, pointy diamonds cast into the surface. It is
rather uncomfortable to grip the bayonet in your hand. Thereís no doubt that
you would not loose your grip on this bayonet if it became wet or slimy.

The scabbard is similar to the US M8A1. It has a blackened
steel mouthpiece marked M8A1 on the front. The scabbard body appears to
be a fiber reinforced plastic

This is a commercial M4 that was imported right before the
ban on military items from China. Itís a standard M4 configuration with what
appears to be a stainless steel blade. A quick test with a magnet proved that
to be incorrect. The pommel is secured to the grip with a Phillips head screw.
The one-piece grip seems to be molded right on to the tang.

The scabbard is an un-reinforced green plastic body with a
blued steel mouthpiece. The scabbard is completely un-marked.

These bayonets, in their original configuration, showed up
on the US surplus market sometime in the late 1980s. The supply very quickly
exceeded the demand and the distributor was left sitting on a bunch of
bayonets. Shortly thereafter an advertisement appeared for "foreign
manufactured M1 Carbine bayonets". If I remember correctly they were
relatively inexpensive so I ordered a couple. They turned out to be the
Chinese AK81 bayonets that were rather ingeniously modified to fit the M1
Carbine.

The first change made was to weld a small flat plate to the
top of the pommel. This reduced the width of the mortise slot from about 8 mm
to 4.5 mm. It also reduced the top of pommel to muzzle ring dimension.
Secondly, a machined bushing was welded into the muzzle ring to reduce its
interior diameter. The hilt has the basic overall style of the Soviet AK
series of bayonets, only slimmer. The blade is cruciform at the hilt with the
side ridges diminishing as they approach the tip of the blade, creating a
double fuller on each side of the blade. It is a very unique design.

The scabbard is interesting but of poor quality. The green
body is a molded soft plastic. There is a bright steel band molded into the
mouth of the scabbard body. The retaining strap and hanger are made of a brown
vinyl material. It does not appear that this scabbard would hold up to any
substantial field use.